Music in Silence
by VoiceOfTime
Summary: A serial killer in Boston puts someone from Reid's past in danger. Reid/OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I love Spencer Reid with all my heart and I will have him even if I have to tear down the walls between the dimensions. So there.

Ch. 1:

_After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.  
-Writer Aldous Huxley_

"Good morning, mon amis." Garcia said, walking into the round table room. "I have the latest in the strange and disturbing for you."

She hit the button on her remote.

"Three men have been murdered in Boston over the last four weeks." She told them, pulling up the pictures of the men.

"That's not much of a cooling down period." Prentiss commented.

"No, it's not." Hotch agreed. "What does Boston PD think connects the murders?"

"This." Garcia replied.

She pulled up three more pictures.

"Is that music?" Morgan asked.

"Yes." Garcia replied. "The killer left this music strewn around all three bodies. They all seem to be from the same piece, but Boston hasn't been able to identify it yet."

"It seems familiar." Reid murmured.

"There's a lot of anger here." JJ pointed out. "That has to be at least 20 stab wounds on each body."

"37 on the last one." Garcia confirmed.

"Does Boston PD have any idea what connects them?" Morgan asked.

"Not yet." Garcia replied.

"Well, victimology is all over the map." Morgan said. "The first one was a small blonde guy, while the last one was a big guy with black hair. You can't get any further apart, physically at least."

"Socioeconomically as well." Rossi said. "One was a nurse while another was a lawyer and the last was a grad student."

"Yeah, and the time between killings is getting closer." Prentiss said. "There was two weeks between the first and the second murders, and only a week between the second and the third."

"Yeah, which is why Boston wants you there as quickly as possible." Garcia said.

"Alright, plane leaves in 30." Hotch said.

They all got up to leave, but Reid stayed where he was.

"What's up, kid?" Morgan asked.

"There's something about this music." Reid replied. "I know it from somewhere. It's just frustrating that I can't remember."

"Well come on." Morgan said. "You can figure it out on the plane."

Reid nodded and followed him out.

* * *

"Okay, let's go over it." Hotch said on the plane.

"Four weeks ago, Tyler Myers was attacked in his house and stabbed to death." Garcia reported from her den via sat link. "He was discovered the next morning when his girlfriend came by to check on him after he didn't pick up his phone."

"No signs of forced entry." Morgan commented. "So either he knew his attacker or our unsub had a way into the house."

"Same on the other two houses." Garcia confirmed. "Second victim, Howard Lawrence, and the third victim, Richard St. Claire, both had no sign of forced entry at the crime scenes, and both were killed during the night and found the next morning."

"Have you found any connection between the victims?"Hotch asked.

"The only connection I have found is a bar in downtown named, imaginatively I might add, The Spot." Garcia said. "All three men have visited the establishment at some point, going back eight years, but never at the same time. Our most recent victim stopped visiting over 5 years ago, while our first victim was still going up till two month ago."

"Look into that, Garcia." Hotch ordered.

"Right away, Mon Capitain." She replied. "Peace out, my loves."

The video feed shut down.

"Okay, Reid and Morgan, you go check out this bar." Hotch said. "Prentiss and Rossi will go to the latest crime scene then the morgue, while JJ and I will go to the station."

The others nodded and broke up, while Reid picked up his file to look at the music again.

"What is it that's bothering you about that, kid?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know." Reid replied. "It's like…I know what it should sound like. I think I've heard it someplace."

He shook his head and continued looking over the case file.

* * *

Rossi and Prentiss walked into the bedroom of the latest crime scene and Prentiss winced.

"This is a lot of rage." She said.

It was dark outside, but there was enough lights inside to see how the blood had gone everywhere around the room.

"It takes awhile to stab someone that many times." Rossi pointed out. "So why didn't anyone hear him scream?"

"Also, our victim was a big guy." Prentiss said. "Could one killer have controlled him long enough to do this?"

"You think it was a team?" Rossi asked.

"I don't know." Prentiss replied. "But if it isn't, we're talking about either a very strong unsub or a very out of control one."

"Besides the mess, everything about this says organized killer." Rossi said. "He comes to the scene with the weapon and leaves with it, he is able to subdue and control a large victim, and he is able to get in and out without anyone the wiser."

"But the time between kills is getting shorter." Prentiss said. "He may be devolving."

"Or he's hurrying towards his goal." Rossi replied.

"You think he's a mission based killer?" Prentiss asked.

"Look at the scene." Rossi replied. "He mutilates the body, yes, but there doesn't seem to be any sexual component to these murders. It's like he's trying to punish them for something."

"Maybe they're stand-ins?" Prentiss asked. "The person he really wants to hurt."

"The victimology doesn't support that." Rossi replied. "I don't know, but something is off. This isn't like Zodiac or Foyet. I don't think he's just killing indiscriminately."

"Maybe Reid and Morgan will find something at the bar." Prentiss said, making her way out of the room.

"I hope so." Rossi replied, following her.

* * *

Reid and Morgan walked up to the dark little bar. Morgan grabbed Reid's arm and stopped him from walking right past it.

"What is with you?" Morgan asked.

"There's something about that music." Reid replied. "It's important, I just don't know how."

"Well get your head in the game, boy genius." Morgan told him.

"Yeah." Reid agreed following him inside.

"Thanks, guys!" A singer was saying from on stage as they walked in. "You've been a great audience!"

Reid froze and Morgan turned back.

"Reid?"

"That's it!" the younger man exclaimed. "That's where I know this music from! She wrote it! I can't believe I didn't remember!"

"Slow down, kid." Morgan said. "How do you know she wrote it?"

"Because he was there when I wrote it."

They both turned to see the singer standing behind them.

"He was the first one who ever even heard that theme." She continued. "Hi, Spencer. Long time no see."

"Selena." Reid said. "I-You-Wow. You-um…you look great."

"Thanks." She said softly, smiling. "You too. So, what brings the big bad FBI profiler to this hole in the wall?"

"There's a serial killer in Boston." He replied as they moved over to the bar. "The only thing the three victims have in common is this bar."

He pulled out the pictures of the victims and laid them on the bar. Selena took one look at them and her hand flew to her mouth with a gasp.

"You know these men?" Morgan asked.

"You could say that." Selena said weakly, looking sick. "I dated all of them."

A/N: My friend and I were discussing the need for a real love interest for Reid and this was the story we came up with. Let me know what you think.

Abbey


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Criminal Minds except for the first season on DVD. That should get me half-ies on Spencer, right?

Ch. 2:

"Here, sit down." Reid said, leading Selena into the conference room where the rest of his team was waiting.

"I'm fine, Spencer." She snapped. "I don't need your help, I am not your mother."

Spencer quickly pulled back and Selena sighed as the other stared at them.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. "That was uncalled for."

"You're just being you." He replied calmly. "You always did lash out when you got upset."

Selena smirked.

"Nice to see we still remember so much about each other." She said and Reid smiled slightly.

"Reid." Hotch said.

"Right, sorry." Reid said. "This is Selena Foster, guys. Selena, this is SSA's Aaron Hotchner, Jenifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, and David Rossi."

"What about me, boy wonder?" a voice came out of the speaker phone.

"And that is our technical analyst, Penelope Garcia." Reid said, shaking his head.

"You're the link we're looking for?" Emily asked.

"Those guys." Selena said, swallowing. "The…victims. They're all old boyfriends. I just broke up with Richard a little over three months ago. He called me a month ago. He wanted to get coffee and I blew him off."

She sat down and put her head in her hands.

"Spencer, why is this happening to me?" she whispered. "How did they get my music?"

"Who has access to your music?" Emily asked as Spencer brought Selena a glass of water.

"A hundred plus musicians." She replied, taking a sip. "The Boston Pops are supposed to premier it in two months."

She got up and looked at the pictures of the music on the board.

"The thing is…" she murmured. "There are only three movements here. This one," she pointed to the last murder, "this is the last movement, Love Thyself. This one here," she pointed to the first one, "it's the third movement, Moving On, and this one," she pointed to the second, "that's Lost Alone, the second movement. You're missing the first movement, First Love. The whole work is called Life in Love. I started writing it when I was in college and when I finished it, one of my teachers showed it to the conductor and he agreed to premier it. It's supposed to be my comeback. This is a nightmare."

"Well, if there's a fourth movement, we may have another victim." Rossi pointed out. "These have been your boyfriends, in what seems to be reverse order. We need to contact whoever was your boyfriend before Tyler Myers, warn him and offer him protection."

"He was my fiancé." Selena said softly. "I met him when I was 15. And it should be easy to contact him and protect him."

"Why?" Morgan asked.

"Because, to all signs, he's armed and constantly surrounded by FBI agents." She said.

They all looked at Spencer and he studiously looked somewhere else.

"Something you wanna tell us, Reid?" Morgan asked.

Reid opened his mouth to replied, but was interrupted by Selena swearing.

"I need to make a call." She said.

"Of course." Hotch said. "You can use this office."

"Thanks." She said, stepping inside the nearby door.

Everyone else stared at Reid.

"What?" he demanded.

"How could you never tell us you were engaged, Spence?" JJ asked.

"It was a long time ago." He replied. "We were kids. Both prodigies who they put together so we might have someone to relate to. I was at CalTech, and she was at New England Conservatory. We were both 15 and the only people we knew who could understand what we were going through. We grew closer when I moved to MIT and when we were 18, I asked her to marry me. But when I decided to go to Quantico, she decided she couldn't be the wife of an FBI agent. We went our separate ways. I haven't talk to her since then. Now, I am going to check on her."

He left the room, leaving them staring after her.

"Engaged?" Morgan sputtered.

Prentiss just shook her head.

* * *

"No, I don't want her here!" Selena was saying as Reid closed the door. "This is a police station! She doesn't need to be exposed to this! No-I-Hello? Damn it!"

She slammed the phone down and turned to see Reid and sighed.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Selena laughed humorlessly.

"Um, my ex's are being killed off, my ex-fiancé is probably next on the list, oh and I'm probably going to lose my only chance to have my works performed because no one is going to want to be associated with music that a serial killer is leaving at his crime scenes, so no, I'm not okay." She told him.

"Sorry." He murmured.

Selena sighed.

"It's not your fault." She told him, walking over and taking his hand. "And of all the agents that could've walked through the door with those horrible pictures, I'm glad it was you."

Reid nodded and she let go of his hand.

"So who were you talking to?" he asked.

"Um…" she said, looking back at the phone and then back to him. "There's a lot that I need to tell you about my life now, but first I feel I should warn you that Margaret is going to be here in, oh, 10 minutes."

Reid looked at her for a moment before turning and moving quickly back to the conference room.

"Spencer!" Selena called, following him.

"Hotch, I need to not be here right now." He told his supervisor. "I'll go to the morgue and check out the bodies. Can I go to the morgue?"

"Spencer!" Selena said. "Calm down! It's not like she's going to beat you up. At least I don't think she's going to. No, we're adults. I'm 95% sure she won't beat you up. Okay, 85%."

"Please, can I go to the morgue?" Spencer pleaded.

"What is going on?" Rossi asked.

"My best friend is on her way." Selena said. "She and Spencer didn't part on the best of terms."

"Best of terms?" Spencer repeated. "She threatened to bash my head in with a chime mallet!"

"Please." Selena said dismissively. "Chime mallets are expensive. She wouldn't have wanted to cover it with blood. She probably would've just hit you with a drum stick."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Reid demanded.

"Eh." Selena replied, waving her hand.

"Agent Hotchner." An officer said, leaning into the room. "There's a Margaret Sinclair here."

"Send her back." Hotch said.

"Morgue?" Reid begged. "Please."

"Mommy!"

They all turned as Selena bent down to catch a young child in her arms.

"Amanda!"

Another woman, slightly older than Selena, came running after her.

"Amanda, what have I told you about running away from your Aunt Maggie?" Selena said, picking the young girl up.

"But I missed you, Mommy." She said, burrowing into her shoulder.

"Selena?" Reid asked, gaping at her.

Selena turned back to him.

"I told you I have a lot to tell you." She said. "This is part of it. Spencer, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Amanda Diana Foster."

A/N: Let me know what you think!

Abbey


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If I promise to get him back by midnight, can Spencer come out to play for the day?

Ch. 3:

Selena sighed as Reid's mouth went up and down.

"Amanda, can you please go with your Aunt Maggie and stay with her?" she asked the little girl.

"Yes, ma'am." Amanda said.

"Good girl." Selena said, kissing the girl's forehead.

"Come on, Pamanda." Maggie said, taking her from her mother.

"I'll show you to the break room." JJ offered, leading them out.

When they were gone, Selena turned back to the others.

"Spencer, will you please wipe that look of panic off your face?" she sighed. "She's not yours. She's only eight."

"Why did you name her Diana?" he demanded.

"Because I've always liked your mom." Selena said defensively. "I still visit her whenever I can."

"The hospital never told me." He murmured.

"I asked them not to." She said. "I wasn't in a good place when I started visiting her regularly and I didn't want you to find out."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I was-Look, do I need to tell you all this?" she asked.

"Anything you can tell us about your life might help us figure out who our unsub is." Hotch replied.

"Fine." Selena said, sitting down.

They all sat down around the table and she took a deep breath.

"When Spencer and I went our separate ways, I was in my last year of my doctorial studies." She started. "After he left, I threw myself into my studies and my composition, but a few months later, my mother was killed in a hit and run. She was my only family, and suddenly I was on my own for the first time in my life. I didn't handle it particularly well. And when I say that, I mean I went totally off the rails.

I went to parties and drank, and when someone offered me cocaine at one of the parties, I took it. Within a year, I had dropped out of New England and I was living in a crappy little apartment, everything I had going to feed my addiction. I spent a few years like this, until finally, one night, I was walking back from my dealer's place, higher than a kite, and someone jumped me.

I don't remember much except that I woke up in an alley and I knew that I had been raped. My way of dealing with this was to simply go home and work on getting even higher. I probably would've continued on like that until I killed myself, if I hadn't started getting sick a few weeks later. I went to the hospital and found out that I was pregnant."

"So Amanda's father…" Prentiss prompted.

"Was never caught." Selena confirmed. "They ran Amanda's DNA, but there weren't any partial matches, so they didn't think he was in the system."

"I would've thought you would've gotten an abortion." Reid said softly. "You always said rape was a situation where abortion should be allowed."

"And I still stand by that." She told him. "But when I was faced with the choice, I couldn't blame her for what her father had done, so I decided to keep her. Which brings me to Tyler. He was a nurse at the hospital. He helped me get clean, helped me stay clean. He was the first guy I had let get close to me in years, and he was kind and he cared about me. But when Amanda came, he decided he wasn't ready to be a father, and I didn't blame him, so I let him go."

"What about Howard Lawrence and Richard St. Claire?" Rossi asked.

"I met Howard a few years after Amanda was born." Selena said. "And we were only together for a month. Amanda became attached to him quickly, but he didn't want me to finish my degree and we argued about it, so it ended.. Richard, on the other hand, was very supportive of my career. He loved Amanda and me, but I wasn't as sure, so when he asked me to marry him, I said no. That was only a month and a half ago."

A tear slipped down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away.

"Did you have other partners?" Morgan asked. "Ones you didn't introduce to Amanda?"

"Of course." Selena replied. "I'm very careful about who I let near my daughter. There aren't many of them, but there are a few guys I dated, but never felt serious enough about to bring home to meet her. At least they don't seem to be turning up dead."

"You should probably still make us a list, just in case." Hotch told her.

Selena nodded.

"I want to know what is going on." She told them. "I want to understand why this is happening to me. Am I in danger? Is Amanda?"

"We won't let anything happen to you or Amanda." Reid said immediately. "I promise."

She took a deep breath and stood up.

"I really need to check on my daughter and make sure my best friend isn't corrupting her, although that seems to be a lost cause at this point." She said with a slight smile.

She headed to the door, but Reid stopped her as she reached the door and the others pretended to not pay attention.

"I'm alright, Spencer." She said softly.

"No, you're not." He replied.

She closed her eyes and a tear slipped down her cheek. He sighed and wrapped her in a hug. She hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around his waist tightly and burying her face in his chest.

"I missed you." She whispered.

Reid sighed and rested his cheek against her hair.

"I've missed you, too." He replied.

Selena took a deep breath and pulled away.

"I have to go check on Amanda, and you have a job to do." She told him.

He nodded and let her move to the door. She opened it to leave, but paused.

"You know, I may not have supported you going to the FBI," she said softly, "but I'm glad you found a place you really fit in."

She smiled at him softly and left. Reid turned back to the others and found them all studiously looking at their files.

"Shut up." He told them, sitting back down.

Morgan snorted and the others tried to hide grins with varying success.

"So." Prentiss said. "I think we need to adjust our profile."

"I told you I thought this guy had a reason for killing these people." Rossi said. "I think we're dealing with a stalker, one who has a problem with anyone who's ever been serious enough with Selena to be viable as a father figure to Amanda."

"It's probably someone she knows." Reid added. "We need to look at all the men in her life."

"I hate to point this out, especially if it is someone she knows, but Amanda's biological father has never been found." Prentiss said. "It's possible that he's the one doing this, in the belief that he's protecting his family. Which means, if it is someone she knows, it's someone she's known for a long time."

"We need to deliver the profile." Hotch said, standing up. "Reid, why don't you go give it to Selena and Margaret, see if it rings any bells."

Reid nodded and quickly left.

"You realize, Reid might know this guy, too." Morgan pointed out after the genius had left. "If it's someone who's been in her life this long, he might date back to when Reid was with her. And if he's been obsessed with her all that time, her ex-fiancé is someone he's really going to hate."

"So Reid's definitely going to need protection." Rossi agreed.

"Oh, that's going to go well." Prentiss muttered.

* * *

Reid went to the open the door to the break room, but it suddenly opened and Margaret stepped out, shut the door, and leaned against it.

The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Spencer." Margaret said.

"Maggie." Reid replied.

"I haven't seen you since you walked out on Selena." She said.

Reid glared at her.

"I see you still don't pull any punches." He said. "And as I remember it, I walked out because Selena threw me out."

"She cried for a month after you left." Maggie told him. "Is it any wonder she went off the rails when she lost the rest of her world? When I came back to help with Amanda, she was at rock bottom. Maybe it would've still happened when her mom died, even if you had been there, but the thing is, losing both of you destroyed her! As much as I hate what was done to her, if it weren't for Amanda, I honestly think she would've wound up killing herself. And now, you get to swoop in and be the knight in shining armor and save her from all the bad in her life, but I'm afraid of what happens when you leave again! You two always had this power over each other that scared me, and so help me god, if you use it to destroy her again…"

"Do you think I didn't suffer too?" Reid hissed. "I loved her! She's the only girl that I ever let get that close to me. When I left, maybe I didn't fall apart like she did, but I threw myself into my work. I delved deeper and deeper into the minds of the most twisted people on the planet, trying to escape. She's not the only one who hit rock bottom. She took cocaine? I was addicted to Dilaudid. I was captured by an unsub, beaten and tortured, and shot so full of drugs, that when it was all over, I stole the unsub's stash right off his dead body. She was the only one who could ever get me to slow down, and without her, I just kept going further and further. I needed her to keep me sane and I didn't know how to cope without her. You say we've got a power over each other and that it scares you, well it scares me too. But I have never intentionally hurt her, and I never will."

Maggie studied him as he broke off, breathing heavily.

"You've grown up, Spencer." She said softly. "I can't decide if that's a good thing or not."

They both jumped as the door opened and JJ stepped out.

"Selena says, and I quote, 'Tell them to stop threatening and sniping at each other and get in here'." She told them.

Reid laughed slightly.

"Thanks, JJ." He told her. "The others are about to go give the profile, if you want to join them. I've got it here."

She nodded and moved away. Maggie sighed and opened the door.

"After you." She said.

Reid stepped around her and entered the room. Inside, mother and daughter were sitting at the table, playing a game.

"Is that my chess set?" he asked, walking over.

"JJ got it out of your bag." Selena said. "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't." he replied, squatting down next to Amanda. "You like chess?"

The little girl nodded, focusing on the board.

"Amanda, this is an old friend of mine, Spencer." Selena said.

"Do you ever play other people?" he asked Amanda. "Cause I know you don't play your mom. I tried to teach her, but she just never could quiet seem to get it."

"I play myself." Amanda replied, looking up at him. "Mommy taught me, but she says she doesn't like losing all the time."

"Yeah, she refused to play with me, too." Spencer said. "Do you want to try me?"

"Sure!" she said happily, starting to reset the board.

"Okay, let me just talk to your mom and your aunt real quick, and then we'll start the game." He said, standing up and motioning for Selena to follow him.

"Here." She said, handing him a piece of paper. "It's everyone I've dated. I can't remember a lot of the names between you and when Amanda was born, but I put down what I could."

"Thanks." Reid replied. "I'll have Garcia start running them."

"I heard you say your team was about to deliver a profile." She said. "What have you guys come up with?"

"We think this guy is a stalker." Reid told her. "He may even be someone you know, consider a friend. We think he's killing off guys in your life that he feels you might allow to become father figures to Amanda."

"If he's obsessed with me, why would her care about who's in Amanda's life?" Maggie asked.

"You think it's him." Selena whispered. "The man who raped me. Amanda's biological father."

Reid nodded.

"But you said I might know him, think of him as a friend." She whispered. "You think the man who attacked me is someone I know? Someone I let near Amanda?"

She started to breath heavily and Reid helped her sit down.

"Mommy?"

Maggie quickly went to Amanda as Reid tried to calm Selena down.

"We don't know." He told her. "But it's a possibility. We think, in his mind, he's protecting his family. I need you to think about them men in your life. Who have you known the longest? Who's been the most interested in Amanda's life? Just think about it and talk to Maggie. Let me know what you come up with."

Selena nodded as Maggie came back.

"I'll stay with her and see what we can come up with." She told Reid. "You go distract Amanda with a game."

He nodded and stood up, walking back to the table.

"Is my mommy okay?" Amanda asked him.

"She's just scared." Reid told her.

"Why?" the girl asked.

"Because someone is hurting people she cares about." Reid replied. "But don't worry, 'cause my team and I are going to catch him and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else."

"Then mommy won't be scared?" Amanda asked.

"Nope." Reid replied, smiling. "Now, how 'bout that game?"

A/N: So, what did you guys think? Let me know!

Abbey


End file.
